Roston Chase

The CPL announced on Monday the seismic developments on Monday as it released the franchise pre-draft retentions and new signings for the coming season.

There were two pre-draft windows for the 2022 season. In the first window, each team could retain up to five Caribbean players with a maximum of two from the top five salary spots.

In the second window, teams were then given an opportunity to sign two more local players. These could be new signings from those who were not retained by other teams or players who appeared for that team in the previous season.

The Trinidad-based franchise has also retained captain Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales and Tion Webster.

Meanwhile, defending champions St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, have brought in mercurial opening batsman Andre Fletcher and Darren Bravo to bolster their batting while retaining 2021 captain Dwayne Bravo, Evin Lewis, Sheldon Cottrell, Sherfane Rutherford and the hero of last season’s final Dominic Drakes.

The St Lucia Kings have acquired the services of explosive batsman Johnson Charles and Mark Deyal while retaining 2021 Player of the Tournament Roston Chase, Kesrick Williams, Alzarri Joseph, and Jeavor Royal.

Over in Barbados, the Royals have picked up the talented Obed McCoy and re-energized Devon Thomas and have retained their captain Jason Holder, Kyle Mayers, Hayden Walsh, Oshane Thomas and Nyeem Young.

Two-time champions, Jamaica Tallawahs have signed the exciting all-rounder Fabian Allen and opener Brandon King while retaining Rovman Powell, Kennar Lewis and Shamarh Brooks.

The Guyana Amazon Warriors added Keemo Paul and Gudakesh Motie while keeping Shimron Hetmyer, Odean Smith, Romario Shepherd, and Chandrapaul Hemraj.

The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) finals will be hosted by Guyana for the next three years, starting in 2022. This is the first time the Hero CPL final will be held in Guyana and this long-term staging agreement will see the culmination of the tournament also taking place in Guyana in 2023 and 2024.

This season, Guyana will host seven group games, three knockout matches and the Hero CPL final which will take place on Friday, September 30 at The Guyana National Stadium in Providence.

King, who is leading the team for the first time on his home soil, gave the decent size crowd much to cheer about with a well-played 79 off 45 balls, which assisted the Caribbean side to 175-8 from their allotment, before Matthew Forde (3-27), Gudakesh Motie (3-25) and Obed McCoy (2-15), restricted South Africa to 147 in 19.5 overs.

Despite the absence of the main scoreboard –which has been out for almost four years now –as well as an underprepared tabled press area, King and company ensured that the first international game at the venue since 2022, was a successful one.

The 29-year-old, who is deputizing for compatriot Rovman Powell, attributed his Player-of-the-Match knock, which included six fours and six maximums, to the familiar conditions.

“Obviously it is leading up to the World Cup so we want to be playing good cricket and we got the win today, so we are happy with that and I think we played well all around,” King said in a post-game interview.

“I had the advantage of knowing the conditions well and I know that it is easiest to bat when it’s the new ball so I had to try and get a good start and I executed well. At the mid-way point I think we had 200-220 in mind as we had wickets in hand but it is a difficult wicket to bat on when the ball gets older, but we still managed to get a competitive total on this wicket,” he added.

After being asked to take first strike, King started positively, but lost opening partner Johnson Charles (one) in the fourth over with the score at 36.

However, he found another useful ally in Kyle Mayers, and the added a further 79 runs for the second wicket, with King, the aggressor raising his 10th international half-century off 27 balls in the sixth over when he drove a length delivery from Lungi Ngidi to the midwicket boundary.

The skipper continued to take the South African bowlers to task, before he eventually went, reaching for one of Andile Phehlukwayo that came off the toe of the bat and was caught by his opposite number Rassie van der Dussen.

Still, at 115-2 after 11 overs, West Indies remained on course for a massive total, but then came the familiar collapse as they lost three wickets in quick succession. Mayers was first to go for a 25-ball 34, including three sixes and a solitary four, with Andre Fletcher (one) and Fabian Allen (one) following.

In fact, apart from vice-captain Roston Chase, who made a measured unbeaten 32 off 30 balls, which had two fours and a six, none of the batsmen got into double figures.

Phehlukwayo (3-28) and Ottneil Baartman (3-26) did the damage for South Africa.

In reply, South Africa started with Quinton De Cock driving Matthew Forde’s first ball, a full length delivery, straight down the ground. However, the 22-year-old Barbadian responded immediately as he served up another full length delivery, just around off stump, which forced de Kock into another drive, but the left-hander got a slight edge and Andre Fletcher made no mistakes behind the stumps.

Debutant Ryan Rickelton (six) also had a brief stay in the middle, and from there, the visitors laboured, despite Reeza Hendricks making his 15th T20 international half-century. Hendricks, who was ninth man out with just two balls left of the innings, made a career-best 87 off 51 balls with six sixes and six fours.

Captain Rassie van der Dussen (17) and Matthew Breetzke (19) were the only other South African batsmen to reach double figures.

The second and third games of the series are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, at the same venue, ahead of the much-anticipated June-1-29 T20 World Cup hosted in the Caribbean and United States.

At stumps, WI Best ‘B’ are 44-4 from the 15 overs they faced, 220 runs behind WI Best ‘A’ who scored 264 all out.

Blackwood led from the front scoring 85 while Shai Hope got 79 as the WI Best A got to 254 for 5 before collapsing to 264 all. Roston Chase did the late damage taking 4-44 from 11.3 overs.

Earlier, Chemar Holder took 3 for 44, to keep the batters in check after John Campbell and Hope got the WI Best A to a fast start, racing to 47-0 after just 10 overs with Jayden Searles and Preston McSween bearing the brunt of the onslaught.

Chemar Holder broke the partnership with the score at 62 when he got Campbell for 20.

Darren Bravo and Hope added 42 before Holder dismissed Bravo for seven and Kyle Mayers in consecutive deliveries as WI Best A slipped to 104 for 3.

At 123 for 3, Searles for Hope for 79.

Meanwhile, Blackwood, who was on eight when Hope got out, put together a 54-run stand with Joshua Da Silva, who was eventually bowled by Jomel Warrican for 13.

Kavem Hodge and Blackwood then took the score to 254 when the captain fell for 85 and triggered a collapse as Chase knifed through the lower order and saw the side lose their last five wickets for 10 runs.

When the B side batted, they lost Kieran Powell for 22, Shayne Moseley for 1, Nkrumah Bonner for a duck and Shamarh Brooks for 13 as Keon Harding took 2-23, Nial Smith 1-5 and Shannon Gabriel 1-15.

The Harpy Eagles started Thursday’s second day 278-7 off 88 overs with Savory and Imlach unbeaten on 127* and 33*, respectively.

The pair brought the score up to 342 in the 105^th over before Savory fell for a fantastic 155. His knock lasted 309 balls and included 16 fours and three sixes.

Imlach went on to finish on 101*, his second hundred in a row, off 169 balls including 11 fours and two sixes as the Harpy Eagles were eventually bowled out for a massive 424 off 116.3 overs.

Ojay Shields finished with 4-103 off 23 overs for the Scorpions while Peat Salmon took 3-117 from his 29 overs.

Veerasammy Permaul then worked his magic to rip through the Scorpions batting on the way to 5-55 from his 21 overs to leave the hosts reeling at 153-9 off 61 overs at stumps, trailing by 271 runs.

Captain Brandon King has top-scored so far for the Scorpions with 32. Isai Thorne has provided good support for Permaul with 2-19 from his eight overs.

Full Scores: Guyana Harpy Eagles 424 all out off 116.3 overs (Kemol Savory 155, Tevin Imlach 101*, Gudakesh Motie 56, Ojay Shields 4-103, Peat Salmon 3-117)

Jamaica Scorpions 153-9 off 61 overs (Brandon King 32, Ramaal Lewis 24, Veerasammy Permaul 5-55, Isai Thorne 2-19).

Elsewhere, the Combined Campuses & Colleges trail the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force by 482 runs at stumps on day two at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground in St. Augustine.

The Red Force started day two 374-4 and went on to post a formidable 591-7 off 123 overs.

Amir Jangoo, who started the day on 153, ended up making a brilliant 218 off 238 balls including 15 fours and 10 sixes.

Skipper Joshua Da Silva also cashed in with 79 as Amari Goodridge took 5-92 from 22 overs.

CCC were then restricted to 109-5 at stumps. Kamil Pooran led the way with 40 while Anderson Phillip and Terrance Hinds have both taken two wickets, each.

Full Scores: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force 591-7 declared off 123 overs (Amir Jangoo 218, Jason Mohammed 157, Joshua Da Silva 79, Amari Goodridge 5-92)

Combined Campuses & Colleges 109-5 off 36 overs (Kamil Pooran 40, Terrance Hinds 2-15, Anderson Phillip 2-29)

At Queen’s Park Oval, Leeward Islands Hurricanes trail the Barbados Pride by 445 runs at stumps on day two.

The Pride, after starting day two 248-3 off 90 overs, went on to post a massive 542-9 declared off 143 overs.

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite carried on from his overnight 117 to make a top score of 189 off 400 balls including 17 fours.

Roston Chase was also in blistering form on Thursday, hitting an 87-ball 127 including 10 fours and seven sixes.

Rakheem Cornwall took 5-132 from 33 overs for the Hurricanes.

The Leewards reached 97-1 off 37 overs at stumps. Keacy Carty and Mikyle Louis are the batsmen at the crease for the Leewards on 64* and 25*, respectively.

Full Scores: Barbados Pride 542-9 declared off 143 overs (Kraigg Brathwaite 189, Roston Chase 127, Zachary McCaskie 101, Rakheem Cornwall 5-132)

Leeward Islands Hurricanes 97-1 off 37 overs (Keacy Carty 64*, Mikyle Louis 25*)

At Coolidge, the Windward Islands Volcanoes lead the West Indies Academy by 169 runs at stumps on day two.

The Academy, after starting day two 133-7 off 33 overs, were eventually bowled out for 158 in 39.4 overs.

Carlon Bowen-Tuckett top-scored with 36* as Gilon Tyson ended with 5-50 from 13.4 overs for the Volcanoes.

West Indies Test batsmen Alick Athanaze and Kavem Hodge led the way in the second innings for the Windwards with 89 and 41, respectively, but good bowling from the Academy meant the Volcanoes were 165-7 off 60 overs at stumps.

Joshua Bishop and Ashmead Nedd took 2-30 off 22 overs and 2-32 off 19 overs, respectively, for the Academy.

Full Scores: Windward Islands Volcanoes 162 off 48.3 overs (Shamar Springer 31, Stephan Pascal 26, Joshua Bishop 4-24, Johann Layne 3-30, Kadeem Alleyne 2-20) & 165-7 off 60 overs (Alick Athanaze 89, Kavem Hodge 41, Joshua Bishop 2-30, Ashmead Nedd 2-32)

West Indies Academy 158 all out off 39.4 overs (Carlon Bowen-Tuckett 36*, Kadeem Alleyne 35, Gilon Tyson 5-50, Ryan John 2-40, Shamar Springer 2-65)

Brathwaite was replaced as vice-captain by all-rounder Roston Chase and batsman Nicholas Pooran ahead of the start of the team’s tour of New Zealand.  The opener, who was first appointed the Test vice-captain in 2015, had averaged 21 from his last 15 Tests heading into the England series.

He did show signs of a promised recovery with half-centuries in the first Test, where he scored 65 and 75 in the second.  Brathwaite, however, also had scores of 4, 12, 1 and 19 to average 21.  According to Harper, the decision panel is hoping less responsibility will lead to more consistency from the player.

“We thought it important at this time to allow Kraigg Brathwaite, who has been the vice-captain for a while, to just pay a little more attention, to focus a little more on his batting,” Harper told members of the media from the team’s training base in New Zealand.

“He has not been in the best of form for a little while.  I think he began to get himself together on the England tour, we want him to build on this.  We thought the relieving of the responsibility would allow him to focus some more on his batting.”

“We had done a press conference very recently and we had explained that there were some players that had missed the minimum fitness standard for selection, two of those players have since met that standard, that’s Roston Chase and Shimron Hetmyer,” Adams said earlier today.

“They would now be available for selection for the next selection meeting around the Test matches coming up later in March.”

The players were among four that the West Indies selectors said were not named to the T20 and ODI squads to face Sri Lanka starting March 3 because they had failed fitness tests.

Hetmyer’s omission, especially, caused a bit of a stir regionally, considering that the news of his non-selection came against the backdrop of him scoring a century for the Guyana Jaguars in the semi-final of the CG Insurance Super50 semi-final against the Windward Islands Volcanoes last week Thursday.

During a press conference last Saturday, Adams, in response to questions regarding whether the selectors would consider overlooking Hetmyer’s fitness considering his current form, said that was not likely to happen.

 “The policy asks for a minimum standard in certain aspects of fitness testing.  So on the yo-yo intermittent test, that minimum standard is 40 and for a couple of years we have had selection tied to the achievement of that minimum standard,” Adams said.

“It’s pretty simple and all the players are aware of it.  Failure to get to 40 makes them unavailable for selection. So when the panel sits, the first thing that they will consider, before looking at the teams and the squads they want to put together, is who are the players that are available through achieving that minimum standard.”

The West Indies lost the series 2-1 and relinquished the Wisden Trophy they won in the Caribbean in early 2019.

Holder’s ranking took a hit after his underwhelming showing at Old Trafford where he took only two wickets for 107 runs as the West Indies fell to defeat by 269 runs.

At the end of the second Test that was also played at Old Trafford, Holder had 834 ranking points. However, having underperformed with the ball in the final Test, the Barbadian lost 24 ranking points, which triggered his fall down the rankings.

However, he maintains his number 2 ranking in the all-rounder rankings behind England’s Ben Stokes.

Meanwhile, Kemar Roach, who took his 200th Test wicket in the final Test in which he snared four wickets, collected four ranking points to move up a spot from 16^th in the rankings.

Shannon Gabriel holds firm at 19. Chase is at 31.

Joining Holder in making themselves unavailable for the tour are vice-captain Roston Chase, T20 captain Kieron Pollard, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Sheldon Cottrell, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, and Nicholas Pooran. Fabian Allen and Shane Dowrich will be unavailable because of personal reasons.

The CWI Covid-19 policy allows any player the opportunity to decline selection because of health or safety fears, without the decision affecting their consideration for future selection.

The tour is set for January 10 to February 11.  It was only approved after recommendation by the CWI’s Medical Advisory Committee (MAC), who received a detailed report from a pre-tour visit of Bangladesh by CWI Director and Member of the CWI and ICC MAC, Dr Mansingh, and Security Manager, Paul Slowe.

It seems the precautionary measures were not enough to assuage the fears of the majority of the squad.  With 510,080 confirmed coronavirus cases and 7,479 deaths, Bangladesh is one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.  The country has, however, been hosting cricket tournaments under heavy quarantine restrictions.

The West Indies were one of the first teams to resume playing international cricket when they travelled to England in July.  The team then went to New Zealand for a series earlier this month. 

There was much talk about the Test team and its seven uncapped players, among them rising fast bowler Shamar Joseph, who braved a toe injury to snare a seven-wicket haul and lead West Indies to a famous eight-run win –their first in Australia in 27 years.

With the excitement of that victory still very much fresh in the air, Hope and is unit, which includes five players from the Test squad, is intent on extending the celebrations.

The three-match series bowls off on Thursday at 10:30pm.

“It was a very inspiring win that they had in the last Test. It’s great momentum for us, of course it’s a different format, but great signs for us to continue what happened in the last Test in this ODI series,” Hope said in a pre-game press conference.

“It (the mood in the camp) is pretty good. Everyone's up and ready to roll. Seeing some of these grounds here in Australia, that in itself (makes you) want to play cricket so the guys are upbeat and ready to go,” he added.

It was a mixed bag for West Indies last year where results are concerned with their failed World Cup qualifying campaign and a loss to India at the height of their disappointments. However, they rebounded with 3-0 and 2-1 series victories over United Arab Emirates (UAE) and England, followed by a stalemate with South Africa.

Despite the fact that they have won seven of 12 ODIs last year, Hope is mindful that West Indies is yet to beat Australia in a series in almost three decades.

“Like we always say in the dressing room, every game matters, not necessarily about series or an opponent. You have to take every single game as a final and it's nice to see that the guys are really taken to the new system and the we're trying to play our cricket. So yeah, it's just one game at a time and then the results will take care of themselves,” Hope noted.

That said, Hope welcomed the challenge for his fairly inexperienced squad, which includes eight players with 10 or less ODIs under their belts, as they commence the rebuilding phase to towards possible qualification for the next ODI World Cup in four years. Teddy Bishop and Tevin Imlach are both uncapped.

“Yeah, it's I think it's great to widen that pool and what is a better way to start a career than here in Australia for some of the guys. But yes, I think four years seems like a long time, but it really isn't and as much games as these guys can play over that span, I think it's going to widen the pool and then give us a headache when that time comes to hopefully select a strong squad, and then they would also gain a lot more experience with that time,” Hope, who has been at the helm for almost a year declared.

WEST INDIES – Shai Hope (captain), Alzarri Joseph, Alick Athanaze, Teddy Bishop, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Gudakesh Motie, Kjorn Ottley, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.

AUSTRALIA – Steve Smith (captain), Travis Head, Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Lance Morris, Matt Short, Adam Zampa

Having lost their opening Super 8s match to England, the Windies bounced back in style in Barbados on Friday.

Shai Hope's unbeaten 82, which came from 39 balls and included eight sixes, three of which came on the bounce, saw West Indies surpass the target of just 129 within 11 overs.

Hope was recalled to the team after an injury to Brandon King, but will be a tough drop for Rovman Powell now.

The USA had made a promising start, but slipped from 51-1 to 65-4 in the space of three overs, with Andre Russell the pick of the Windies' bowlers (3-31). Andre Gous (29) and Nitish Kumar (20) were the best scores on the board, as they were skittled out for 128.

Hope, Johnson Charles (15) and Nicholas Pooran (27 not out) then wasted little time in securing a margin of victory that sends West Indies above England in Group 2, while their net run rate is also superior to South Africa's.

The Proteas are West Indies' final opponents, while defending champions England face the USA in their last Super 8s match.

Data Debrief: Windies in fine fettle

West Indies have now won nine of their 11 T20Is in 2024, after winning eight games in each of 2022 and 2023.

Their tally of victories this year matches 2021 as their best effort in a single calendar year.

They have also won five of their last seven T20Is at Kensington Oval, and their last three in a row.

After bowling out the visitors for just 172 just after tea, the President’s XI reached the close on 103-1 with Hope unbeaten on a stroke-filled 60 off just 72 balls.

Hope was the embodiment of class as he played several stunning shots, the two best of which went for sixes. The first was a nonchalant flick over deep square leg and the second a slog sweep smacked with great authority, which cleared wide long-on by some distance. He has also hit ten fours so far. Left-hander Darren Bravo ended the day on a solid 30 not out off 69 balls and has so far put on 94 for the second wicket with Hope.

Chase had earlier picked up 4-12 as Sri Lanka collapsed from 137-5 to lose their last five wickets for 35 runs in quick time. Oshada Fernando top-scored with 47, Dinesh Chandimal struck 40 while Pathum Nissanka made 23.

From the outset, Sri Lanka were never allowed to settle, as fast bowler Anderson Phillip snatched 3-47 and seamer Kemar Roach, 2-41, to cause problems early in the innings. Roach removed both openers in successive overs. He got left-hander Lahiru Thirimanne to play around a full-length delivery and gained a leg-before decision in the day’s third over.

He then had captain Dimuth Karunaratne (2) caught at first slip by Kyle Mayers, after Chase at second slip parried the initial offering. There were also four catches for wicket-keeper Jahmar Hamilton, who demonstrated excellent glovework behind the stumps.

On that occasion, the Windies showed plenty of grit and determination to beat the much more highly fancied England 2-1.  A similar result against New Zealand would be even more remarkable, however, considering the team’s poor showing against the Blackcaps in recent campaigns.

With the regional team having not registered a Test series win against New Zealand since 2012, it is the Kiwis that have won the last three, with the Windies winning just a match.  The victories included a 2-1 win over the West Indies in the Caribbean in 2014.  Chase, however, believes the upcoming series could be a little different.

“New Zealand is never an easy place to play…but I am feeling something special about this tour.  The energy that I’m feeling from the guys.  The eagerness reminds me of when we played the series against England in the Caribbean,” Chase told windiescricket.com.

“I just really have a good feeling about this one,” he added.

Chase replaced opener Kraigg Brathwaite as vice-captain of the squad.  The West Indies will face-off against New Zealand in two Test and three T20 internationals.

The 28-year-old batting rounder has emerged as a valuable utility player for the Windies in recent years.  That ability was on full display the last time the teams met, in the Caribbean, where Chase scored a half-century and took eight wickets in the first Test, a win for the West Indies, and scored 102 in the dead rubber loss.

As it stands, heading into the upcoming series with no clear direction on the match-day team composition, Chase, in terms of his bowling, could be used from anywhere between the first spin option to back-up spin option.  For batting options, he could be moved further up the order with the absence of Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo or be tasked with providing crucial lower middle-order runs.  According to Chase, however, whatever configuration he is picked in will suit him just fine.

“I’m ready to do whatever it takes for us to be victorious, to be successful.  Last time we came to England its something I had to do quite a bit of, so it’s not new to me,” Chase told members of the media.

“I am looking forward to that challenge if we go with the four-pronged attack, if not I’ll just try to contribute to my team in any way possible,” he added.

 As a part of the last tour in 2017 Chase struggled with the bat but managed to claim seven wickets.

The West Indies, thanks to a century from Shai Hope at the top of the order, scored 289-7 before going from losing positions to winning positions and back again, as Sri Lanka got to 290-9 with five balls to spare.

According to Pollard, after leaving a few runs with the bat, the West Indies were also not at their very best with the ball and coughed up too many presents for the Sri Lankans.

But Pollard did enjoy the game, saying it was well contested by both teams.

“Good game of cricket came down to the last over with the crowd on its feet,” he said.

“Normally guys like me and Pooran finish it off but it couldn't happen today. Couple of soft dismissals in the middle really set us back,” said Pollard.

“I think we bowled too many bad balls in the start, gave them too many freebies, that's where we lost the game. Our discipline was not there,” he said.

Sri Lanka started well with a 111-run first-wicket partnership between Avishka Fernando (50) and captain Dimuth Karunaratne (52).

The Windies fought back brilliantly but Thisara Perera played an important innings, slamming a 22-ball 32. When Perera was caught off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph, the match was very much in the balance with Sri Lanka on 253-7.

However, Hasaranga (42 off 39) produced a performance that belied his ODI average of 14.37 to get Sri Lanka over the finish line.

Hasaranga's ability to find the rope – he struck a quartet of fours and one maximum – and inaccurate death bowling from the Windies left the scores level going into the final over.

A direct-hit run out from Sunil Ambris to remove Lakshan Sandakan frayed the nerves a little, but the one run Sri Lanka needed came from a Keemo Paul no-ball off the next delivery as if to highlight the way little mistakes had cost the Caribbean side.

The 32-year-old took 3-19 as the USA were bowled out for 128, with Shai Hope hitting an unbeaten 82 from 39 balls as the Windies leapfrogged England in the race for the semi-finals. 

"It is our destiny and our goal to win this World Cup," Chase said after the victory. "We want teams to know they have to beat us to win this World Cup."

Rovman Powell's side equalled the record for the West Indies' most wins in a single calendar year (W9 in 2021) in T20Is, and face South Africa in Antigua next Monday. 

The triumph continued their impressive T20 record at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, and they have now won five of their previous seven T20Is at the venue. 

The last and only previous time they won more consecutive games in Barbados was a four-game streak from May 2010 to March 2014, which has got the West Indies believing they can claim a third title. 

"It's very special," captain Powell said. "Kensington brings special memories for us. We had no better opportunity to come out and play some good cricket."

The USA still holds on to the hopes of qualifying for the competition's semi-finals but knows their hopes of progression lie elsewhere. 

Having lost their opening Super 8 fixture to South Africa, they will be hoping the Proteas can do them a favour in defeating the West Indies but would need a comprehensive victory of their own against current champions England. 

"We lost wickets in clusters," captain Aaron Jones said. "I don't think we ever truly recovered from that. It was bad in the middle.

"We'll go back to the drawing board and come back hard against England on Sunday."

The Tallawahs had contributions throughout their side, but it was Andre Russell who was the most brutal, scoring fifty from just 14 balls, another Hero CPL record.

The Kings were given a mammoth target of 256 runs to win the game and they never really found partnerships that would see them get close to the Tallawahs efforts.

The Tallawahs were put in to bat by the Kings and were given a lightning start thanks to Kennar Lewis who smashed 48 runs from just 22 balls in an innings that include five massive sixes that soared out of Warner Park.

Lewis was well supported by Chadwick Walton who was measured while his opening partner was scoring so freely but he opened his shoulders soon after Lewis was dismissed by Roston Chase. The Tallawahs lost Walton for 47 but that did not slow them down with fast runs coming from Haider Ali and Rovman Powell.

The finishing touches to a fantastic Jamaica batting performance come from Russell who scored at a strike rate of 357.14. The power with which Russell struck the ball was nothing short of remarkable with the Kings bowlers unable to find an answer to his brutal hitting.

When the Kings innings got underway there were some lusty blows from Rahkeem Cornwall but then wickets began to fall regularly.

The Kings lost Cornwall and Faf du Plessis in the first over and by the end of the PowerPlay they were 66/6 and all chances of an improbable win were gone.

It was Hero CPL debutant Migael Pretorius who was the star with the ball for the Tallawahs, returning figures of 4-32.

The only standout batsman was the in-form Tim David who made 56 from 28. He was sadly lacking for support as the Kings stumbled to 135 all out.

Jamaica Tallawahs 255-5 (Russell, 50*, Lewis 48:  Pretorius 4-32, Khan 3-7) beat Saint Lucia Kings 135 all out (David 56, Riaz 26; McCoy 3-52, Chase2-33) by 120 runs.

Campbell, who is hoping to retain his place in the West Indies team for the Test series against Sri Lanka later this month, scored 129 from 253 balls from which he hit 15 fours and three sixes in his more than five-hour stay at the crease.

He partnered with Captain Roston Chase to put on a fourth-wicket stand of 183 after Jayden Seales and Preston McSween had combined to reduce the side to 53-3. Seales accounted for the wickets of Shayne Moseley for three and Sunil Ambris for a duck to have Chase XI in trouble early at 12 for 2.

Campbell and Nkrumah Bonner then put on 41 for the third wicket before McSween dismissed the latter for 16.

Campbell and Chase took the score to 236 when Chase fell to Kavem Hodge for 75. He struck 10 fours in the innings that lasted for 208 minutes during which he faced 159 deliveries. Campbell eventually fell to the bowling of Rahkeem Cornwall after he and Jermaine Blackwood had put on 16 for the sixth wicket.

Blackwood, meantime, remained unbeaten on 18 at the close. Imran Khan is with him on three.

Seales, who also dismissed Raymon Reifer for 2, was the best of the bowlers taking 3-42 while McSween, who claimed the wickets of Bonner and Jahmar Hamilton returned figures of 2-40.

Jordan, who was recently called to the West Indies squad to replace Jomel Warrican for the South Africa tour, proved incisive and economical taking 3-32 from 19.5 overs.

Chase returned figures of 3-94 and Shannon Gabriel 2-45 from 10 to bowl the South Africa Invitational XI out for 317 in 89.5 overs in reply to the West Indies’ first day score of 283-9.

Captain Wihan Lubbe, who opened the innings, led the scoring with 71 while Dewald Brevis scored 50 for the South Africans.

After Gabriel had his opening partner Bryce Parsons dismissed for 25 with the score at 39, Lubbe and Daniel Smith took the score to 112 when the latter was dismissed by Raymon Reifer for 33.

Lubbe became the third wicket to fall and Gabriel’s second when he was caught behind as the South Africans reached 146-3.

Brevis made his half-century and Ruan de Swardt, 40, to help their side keep on track but South Africa XI slipped to 218-6 as Jordand Chase chipped away at the middle order.

Evan Jones (23) and Corbin Bosch, who scored an unbeaten 31 as the side breached 300 but Jordan cleaned up the tail to restrict the lead to below 50.

This win means the Tallawahs move into a qualifying spot for the knockout games next week but all six teams still have a mathematical chance to reach the latter stages. The Kings remain in third place in the table with all teams having two more group matches left to play.

The Tallawahs got off to a lightning start thanks to other brutal innings from Kennar Lewis who smashed 56 from just 24 balls. Lewis was well supported by Shamarh Brooks as the Tallawahs reached 78-1 off their PowerPlay overs.

While wickets fell throughout the Tallawahs innings they managed to maintain a fast scoring rate throughout with contributions from the middle order. It was Imad Wasim who pushed the Tallawahs past 200 with 10-ball innings worth 27 runs including three consecutive sixes off the 20th over.

The Kings chase started just as quickly with Andre Fletcher and Mark Deyal both making quick-fire scores as they reached 79-1 off their first six overs. Roston Chase and Deyal put on 66 runs in just 32 balls but both fell in the space of two balls to Carlos Brathwaite to bring the Tallawahs back into the match.

Those two wickets gave the Tallawahs a lot more control as they squeezed the Kings in the middle overs with Brathwaite keeping things very tight. The Tallawahs took two wickets in two balls twice more as the Kings chase petered out and the Tallawahs emerged victorious.

Jamaica Tallawahs 211 all out (Lewis 56, Brooks 34; Royal 3-37, Royal 3-53) beat Saint Lucia Kings 156 all out (Deyal 33, Chase 30; Imad 3-34, Brathwaite 2-13) by 55 runs

The Knight Riders won the toss and opted to field first and that decision appeared to have backfired when Johnson Charles’ half-century got the Kings off to a lightning start.

Although the Knight Riders pegged the Kings back in the middle overs a devastating 33 off 14 balls from David Wiese ensured the Knight Riders were set a very difficult 148 to win.

 The Knight Riders’ task became even more difficult when they lost three early wickets inside the PowerPlay including that of Nicholas Pooran for a duck. 

 They never really recovered from that and left themselves too much ground to make up in the back end resulting in the narrow defeat.

 The Kings had got off to a flier in the PowerPlay with the tournament’s top scorer Charles hitting another barnstorming fifty. His partnership with Niroshan Dickwella added 59 runs before Ravi Rampaul carried on his good form by removing the latter.

 When Rampaul removed the set Charles it led to a squeeze on the Kings scorecard as 82-3 quickly became 117-5.

 However, David Wiese was able to produce an excellent counter-attacking innings at the death to help the Kings post a challenging 147.

 The Knight Riders' response saw their top order fail again as Leonardo Julien, Colin Munro and Nicholas Pooran all fell inside the powerplay to Roston Chase.

 That left the middle and lower order too much to do and despite a late salvo by Andre Russell in the final over of the game, it was too little too late.

 The two sides swap places in the table following the results and both will now head to Guyana with all to play for in the race for the playoffs. 

Scores: Saint Lucia Kings 147-6 (Charles 54, Wiese 33; Rampaul 2-10, Narine 2-31) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 146-6 (Seifert 44, Pollard 34; Chase 3-17, Joseph 2-26) by 1 run.